Midwest Real
A podcast & blog with an unquenchable lust for rabbit holes, novelty and open-minded inquiry. Join us as we dig beyond the status quo! Hosted by Michael Phillip EST. 12/21/2012 in Milwaukee.
031. Bianca Bosker, Michael Phillip Nelson.

JET PACKS. CATS. REVOLUTION

LISTEN

True innovation is rarely foreseeable.  If yesterday's notions about the future were even close to the mark, we'd be flying around in our cars or wearing jet packs and living in floating houses.  Instead, we carry around yesterday's equivalent to a super computer in our pockets and use it to look at cat memes, take pictures of sushi and enable revolution.  Technology has become weird, it eludes definition and form and the more deeply intertwined we become with it, the more ethical dilemmas we run into.

Just as today's digital mainstays largely evaded foresight, so too will the truly important and disruptive technologies of the tomorrow.  Yet, I will always be compelled to wonder what's next and, perhaps more importantly, how it will change what it means to be a human being. 

Luckily, this week, I have someone much more competent and qualified than myself to bounce my inane ramblings off of, Bianca Bosker.  She's one of those people who's close to my age that just makes me feel self-conscious because she's accomplished so much more than I have.  She's the Executive Editor of Huff Post Tech and the author of a very fascinating book called Original Copies.  Make sure you give her a follow on Twitter, check out her book and keep up with her work on Huffington Post. 

It's official, we're a year old and we've got all of you beautiful listeners to thank.  Year one brought in thousands of downloads from over 60 countries and I truly couldn't be more pleased.  To help us hit 2014 ten times stronger, join our community on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe on Itunes if you like what you hear.

Happy New Year!

Direct download: Bianca.mp3
Category:society and culture -- posted at: 3:45pm EDT

 Each journey we take starts pretty much the same way.  We get an idea, then we daydream about how it will go: “If I do this, then I can do that, I just have to do this and this, then I’ll be this, or have that,” we think to ourselves (you can fill in the blanks with your own scenario).  But, of course as quickly as we take the first step toward starting that journey, we find that the road is longer, more nuanced and fraught with the unexpected than we ever could have imagined.  The bulk daydreaming is almost always good for nothing.

For me, this has held true on every significant journey I’ve embarked upon, whether it was moving over seas, joining a band starting a relationship, or starting this show.  I’m even tempted to say it doesn’t matter what we do, as long as we do it. 

But, some experiences impact and define us on such a deep level that they fundamentally change us for good.  Things like war, loss or a deeply meaningful epiphany.  In my case, these experiences are quite slippery.  There are few solid moments I can point to that have shaped the person I am, but then again, I’ve never been to war, lost someone close or had a true, deep seismic shift in consciousness.

Then, there’s my guest, who makes all my little life-lessons seem trivial.  He’s been to war, he’s felt the sting of loss and he’s experienced true, life-altering psychological and philosophical changes. 

In a very brief nutshell, his most important journey started when he signed up for the Army.  He made the cut as a Ranger and served three traumatic tours in Afghanistan.  The things he did and saw changed him forever. 

When he got home, he was diagnosed with PTSD, given antidepressants and sent on his way.  The pills didn’t help. Every day life was still nearly unbearable.  Searching for options, he heard about and attempted to partake in an experimental and controversial MDMA therapy through MAPS, but the waiting list was unbearably long.  He took matters into his own hands and took various psychedelics as a means to treat his symptoms; it worked.  His experiences with those substances were so profound that they reintroduced him to emotions that he hadn’t felt since he’d been home.  He now has the kind of purpose, strength and focus that few of us have.  He’s now working toward degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology in hopes that he can spread the word about the medical viability of these substances through a scientific lens full-time.

There’s so much more to his journey, so be sure to check out the episode. 

To learn more about the effort to help PTSD victims through MDMA assisted therapy, visit MAPS.

Of course, you can interact with the show through Facebook and Twitter.  If you like what you hear, don’t forget to subscribe and review on Itunes, it helps spread the word!

Midwestreal.net

Direct download: timamaroso.mp3
Category:society and culture -- posted at: 4:23pm EDT

029. Michael Drusch of Evolve Float Tanks, Michael Phillip

LISTEN

For creative people, modern society provides you with an interesting paradox.  You need the infrastructure it provides to support you and give you meaning, yet its design includes so many barriers and obstacles designed to keep you on a well-worn path that it’s inconvenient, if not nearly impossible for many of us to get off of it to pursue our creative goals.

However, if we’re bold enough to roll the dice and lucky enough to end up with the right numbers, the success we taste is so intoxicating that all the toil was worth it.  For those of us that aren’t so lucky, a taste of failure spurs doubt.  We don’t want to have to deal embarrassment, ridicule or starting all over again.  So what do we do?  We rush back to that familiar, well-worn path.

The road less traveled is so for a reason.  If you’re to plunge into its depths, you must do so with commitment and fortitude and skill.  We must view each defeat as lesson to be learned from, not an excuse to run away. 

My guest on this episode, Michael Drusch is well removed from the familiar path.  He’s a young, inspired man with his own isolation tank and a vision.  I believe him when he says he’s determined to turn that tank into not only a living for himself, but a tool that nurtures and enlightens the community.

If you want to support that vision, check out Mike’s new business, Evolve Float Tanks on Facebook and their website. 

If you want to support Midwest Real, follow us on Facebook and Twitter  and leave a nice review on Itunes.

Now sharpen your blades and hack your way off the path!


 

Direct download: evolvefloattanks.mp3
Category:society and culture -- posted at: 4:30pm EDT

1